The Anti-Slavery Examiner, Part 2 of 4 by American Anti-Slavery Society

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have never been used to any thing--_rougher than the cowhide_. Muchsympathy has been awakened in the North by such appeals, and vastnumbers have been led by them to conclude that it is better for millionsof slaves to famish in eternal bondage, than that a few white families,here and there scattered over the South, should be reduced to thehumiliation of _working_.

_Hostility to emancipation_ prevailed in Barbadoes. That island hasalways been peculiarly attached to slavery. From the beginning of theanti-slavery agitations in England, the Barbadians distinguishedthemselves by their inveterate opposition. As the grand resultapproximated they increased their resistance. They appealed,remonstrated, begged, threatened, deprecated, and imprecated. Theycontinually protested that abolition would ruin the colony--that thenegroes could never be brought to work--especially to raisesugar--without the whip. They both besought and demanded of the Englishthat they should cease their interference with their private affairs andpersonal property.

Again and again they informed them that they were wholly disqualified,by their distance from the colonies, and their ignorance of the subject,to do any thing respecting it, and they were entreated to leave thewhole matter with the colonies, who alone could judge as to the besttime and manner of moving, or whether it was proper to move at all.

We were assured that there was not a single planter in Barbadoes who wasknown to be in favor of abolition, before it took place; if, however,there had been one such, he would not have dared to avow his sentiments.The anti-slavery party in England were detested; no epithets were toovile for them--no curses too bitter. It was a Barbadian lady who onceexclaimed in a public company in England, "O, I wish we had Wilberforcein the West Indies, I would be one of the very first to tear his heartout!" If such a felon wish could escape the lips of a female, and thattoo amid the awing influence of English society, what may we concludewere the feelings of planters and drivers on the island!

The opposition was maintained even after the abolition of slavery; andthere was no colony, save Jamaica, with which the English government hadso much trouble in arranging the provisions and conditions under whichabolition was to take place.

From statements already made, the reader will see how great a change hascome over the feelings of the planters.

He has followed us through this and the preceding chapters, he has seentranquillity taking the place of insurrections, a sense of securitysucceeding to gloomy forbodings, and public order supplanting mob law;he has seen subordination to authority, peacefulness, industry, andincreasing morality, characterizing the negro population; he has seenproperty rising in value, crime lessening, expenses of labordiminishing, the whole island blooming with unexampled cultivation, andwaving with crops unprecedented in the memory of its inhabitants; aboveall, he has seen licentiousness decreasing, prejudice fading away,marriage extending, education spreading, and religion preparing tomultiply her churches and missionaries over the land.

_These_ are the blessing of abolition--_begun_ only, and but partiallyrealized as yet, but promising a rich maturity in time to come, afterthe work of freedom shall have been completed.

CHAPTER V.

THE APPRENTICESHIP SYSTEM.

The nature of the apprenticeship system may be learned form thefollowing abstract of its provisions, relative to the three partieschiefly concerned in its operation--the special magistrate, the master,and the apprentice.

PROVISIONS RESPECTING THE SPECIAL MAGISTRATES.

1. They must be disconnected with planters and plantership, that theymay be independent of all colonial parties and interests whatever.

2. The special magistrates adjudicate only in cases where the master andapprentice are parties. Offences committed by apprentices against anyperson not connected with the estates on which they live, come under thecognizance of the local magistrates or of higher courts.

3. The special justices sit three days in the week at their offices,where all complaints are carried, both by the master and apprentice. Themagistrates do not go the estate, either to try or to punish offenders.Besides, the three days the magistrates are required to be at home everySaturday, (that being the day on which the apprentices are disengaged,)to give friendly advice and instruction on points of law and personalrights to all apprentices who may call.

PROVISIONS RESPECTING THE MASTER.

1. The master is allowed the gratuitous labor of the apprentice forforty-five hours each week. The several islands were permitted by theEnglish government to make such a division of this time as localcircumstances might seem to require. In some islands, as for instance inSt. Christopher's and Tortola, it is spread over six days of the week inproportions of seven and a half hours per day, thus leaving theapprentice mere shreds of time in which he can accomplish nothing forhimself. In Barbadoes, the forty-five hours is confined within fivedays, in portions of nine hours per day.

2. The allowances of food continue the same as during slavery, exceptingthat now the master may give, instead of the allowance, a third of anacre to each apprentice, but then he must also grant an additional dayevery week for the cultivation of this land.

3. The master has no power whatever to punish. A planter observed, "if Icommand my butler to stand for half an hour on the parlor floor, and itcan be proved that I designed it as a punishment, I may be fined forit." The penalty for the first offence (punishing an apprentice) is afine of five pounds currency, or sixteen dollars, and imprisonment ifthe punishment was cruel. For a second offence the apprentice isset free.

Masters frequently do punish their apprentices _in despite of allpenalties_. A case in point occurred not long since, in Bridgetown. Alady owned a handsome young mulatto woman, who had a beautiful head ofhair of which she was very proud. The servant did something displeasingto her mistress, and the latter in a rage shaved off her hair close toher head. The girl complained to the special magistrate, and procured animmediate release from her mistress's service.

4. It is the duty of the master to make complaint to the specialmagistrate. When the master chooses to take the punishment into his ownhand, the apprentice has a right to complain.

5. The master is obliged to sell the remainder of the apprentice's term,whenever the apprentice signifies a wish to buy it. If the partiescannot agree about the price, the special magistrate, in connection withtwo local magistrates, appraises the latter, and the master is bound totake the amount of the appraisement, whatever that is. Instances ofapprentices purchasing themselves are quite frequent, not withstandingthe term of service is now so short, extending only to August, 1840. Thevalue of an apprentice varies from thirty to one hundred dollars.

PROVISIONS RESPECTING THE APPRENTICE.

1. He has the whole of Saturday, and the remnants of the other fivedays, after giving nine hours to the master.

2. The labor does not begin so early, nor continue so late as duringslavery. Instead of half past four or five o'clock the apprentices arecalled out at six o'clock in the morning. They then work till seven,have an hour for breakfast, again work from eight to twelve, have arespite of two hours, and then work till six o'clock.

3. If an apprentice hires his time from his master as is notunfrequently the case, especially among the non-praedials, he pays adollar a week, which is two thirds, or at least one half ofhis earnings.

4. If the apprentice has a complaint to make against his master, he musteither make it during his own time, or if he prefers to go to themagistrate during work hours, he must ask his master for a pass. If hismaster refuse to give him one, he can then go without it.

5. There is an _unjustifiable inequality_ in the apprentice laws, whichwas pointed out by one of the special magistrates. The master ispunishable only for cruelty or corporeal inflictions, whereas theapprentice is punishable for a variety of offences, such as idleness,stealing, insubordination, insolence, &c. The master may be as insolentand abusive as he chooses to be, and the slave can have no redress.

6. Hard labor, solitary confinement, and the treadmill, are theprincipal modes of punishment. Shaving the head is sometimes resortedto. A very sever punishment frequently adopted, is requiring theapprentice to make up for the time during which he is confined. If he iscommitted for ten working days, he must give the master ten successiveSaturdays.

This last regulation is particularly oppressive and palpably unjust. Itmatters not how slight the offence may have been, it is discretionarywith the special magistrate to mulct the apprentice of his Saturdays.This provision really would appear to have been made expressly for thepurpose of depriving the apprentices of their own time. It is a directinducement to the master to complain. If the apprentice has been absentfrom his work but an hour, the magistrate may sentence him to give awhole day in return; consequently the master is encouraged to mark theslightest omission, and to complain of it whether it was unavoidableor not.

THE DESIGN OF THE APPRENTICESHIP.--It is a serious question with aportion of the colonists, whether or not the apprenticeship wasoriginally designed as a preparation for freedom. This however was theprofessed object with its advocates, and it was on the strength of thisplausible pretension, doubtless, that the measure was carried through.We believe it is pretty well understood, both in England and thecolonies; that it was mainly intended _as an additional compensation tothe planters_. The latter complained that the twenty millions of poundswas but a pittance of the value of their slaves, and to drown theircries about robbery and oppression this system of modified slavery wasgranted to them, that they might, for a term of years, enjoy the toil ofthe negro without compensation. As a mockery to the hopes of the slavesthis system was called an apprenticeship, and it was held out to them asa needful preparatory stage for them to pass through, ere they couldrightly appreciate the blessings of entire freedom. It was not wonderfulthat they should be slow to apprehend the necessity of serving a sixyears' apprenticeship, at a business which they had been all their livesemployed in. It is not too much to say that it was a grand cheat--anational imposture at the expense of the poor victims of oppression,whom, with benevolent pretences, it offered up a sacrifice to cupidityand power.

PRACTICAL OPERATION OF THE APPRENTICESHIP.--It cannot be denied thatthis system is in some respects far better than slavery. Many restraintsare imposed upon the master, and many important privileges are securedto the apprentice. Being released from the arbitrary power of themaster, is regarded by the latter as a vast stride towards entireliberty. We once asked an apprentice; if he thought apprenticeship wasbetter than slavery. "O yes," said he, "great deal better, sir; when wewas slaves, our masters git mad wid us, and give us _plenty of licks_;but now, thank God, they can't touch us." But the actual enjoyment ofthese advantages by the apprentices depends upon so many contingencies,such as the disposition of the master, and the faithfulness of thespecial magistrate, that it is left after all exceedingly precarious. Avery few observations respecting the special magistrates, will serve toshow how liable the apprentice is to suffer wrong without thepossibility of obtaining redress. It is evident that this will be thecase unless the special magistrates are _entirely independent_. This wasforeseen by the English government, and they pretended to provide for itby paying the magistrates' salaries at home. But how inadequate wastheir provision! The salaries scarcely answer for pocket money in theWest Indies. Thus situated, the magistrates are continually exposed tothose temptations, which the planters can so artfully present in theshape of sumptuous dinners. They doubtless find it very convenient, whentheir stinted purses run low, and mutton and wines run high, to do asthe New England school master does, "_board round_;" and consequentlythe dependence of the magistrate upon the planter is of all things themost deprecated by the apprentice.[A]

[Footnote A: The feelings of apprentices on this point are wellillustrated by the following anecdote, which was related to us while inthe West Indies. The governor of one of the islands, shortly after hisarrival, dined with one of the wealthiest proprietors. The next day oneof the negroes of the estate said to another, "De new gubner been_poison'd_." "What dat you say?" inquired the other in astonishment, "Degubner been _poison'd_." "Dah, now!--How him poisoned!" "_Him eat massaturtle soup last night_," said the shrewd negro. The other took hismeaning at once; and his sympathy for the governor was turned intoconcern for himself, when he perceived that the poison was one fromwhich _he_ was likely to suffer more than his excellency.]

Congeniality of feeling, habits, views, style and rank--identity ofcountry and color--these powerful influences bias the magistrate towardthe master, at the same time that the absence of them all, estrange andeven repel him from the apprentice. There is still an additionalconsideration which operates against the unfortunate apprentice. The menselected for magistrates, are mostly officers of the army and navy. Tothose who are acquainted with the arbitrary habits of military and navalofficers, and with the iron despotism which they exercise among thesoldiers and sailors,[B] the bare mention of this fact is sufficient toconvince them of the unenviable situation of the apprentice. It is atbest but a gloomy transfer from the mercies of a slave driver, to thejustice of a military magistrate.

[Footnote B: We had a specimen of the stuff special magistrates are madeof in sailing from Barbadoes to Jamaica. The vessel was originally anEnglish man-of-war brig, which had been converted into a steamer, andwas employed by the English government, in conveying the island mailsfrom Barbadoes to Jamaica--to and fro. She was still under the strictdiscipline of a man-of-war. The senior officer on board was alieutenant. This man was one of the veriest savages on earth. Hispassions were in a perpetual storm, at some times higher than at others,occasionally they blew a hurricane. He quarrelled with his officers, andhis orders to his men were always uttered in oaths. Scarcely a daypassed that he did not have some one of his sailors flogged. One night,the cabin boy left the water-can sitting on the cabin floor, instead ofputting it on the sideboard, where it usually stood. For this offencethe commander ordered him up on deck after midnight, and made thequarter-master flog him. The instrument used in this case, (the regularflogging stick having been _used up_ by previous service,) was thecommander's cane--_a heavy knotted club_. The boy held out one hand andreceived the blows. He howled most piteously, and it was some secondsbefore he recovered sufficiently from the pain to extend the other."_Lay on_," stormed the commander. Down went the cane a second time. Wethought it must have broken every bone in the boy's hand. This wasrepeated several times, the boy extending each hand alternately, andrecoiling at every blow. "Now lay on to his back," sternly vociferatedthe commander--"give it to him--_hard_--_lay on harder_." The oldseaman, who had some mercy in his heart, seemed very loth to lay out hisstrength on the boy with such a club. The commander becamefurious--cursed and swore--and again yelled, "_Give it to him harder,more_--MORE--MORE--there, stop." "you infernal villain"--speaking to thequarter-master and using the most horrid oaths--"You infernal villain,if you do not _lay on harder_ the next time I command you, I'll have youput in irons." The boy limped away, writhing in every joint, and cryingpiteously, when the commander called at him, "Silence there, you imp--orI'll give you a second edition." One of the first things the commanderdid after we left Barbadoes, was to have a man flogged, and the lastorder we heard him give as we left the steamer at Kingston, was to puttwo of the men _in irons_.]

It is not a little remarkable that the apprenticeship should be regardedby the planters themselves, as well as by other persons generallythroughout the colony, as merely a modified form of slavery. It iscommon to hear it called 'slavery under a different form,' 'another namefor slavery,'--'modified slavery,' 'but little better than slavery.'

Nor is the practical operation of the system upon the _master_ much lessexceptionable. It takes out of his hand the power of coercing labor, andprovides no other stimulus. Thus it subjects him to the necessity eitherof resorting to empty threats, which must result only in incessantdisputes, or of condescending to persuade and entreat, against which hishabits at once rebel, or of complaining to a third party--an alternativemore revolting if possible, than the former, since it involves theacknowledgment of a higher power than his own. It sets up over hisactions a foreign judge, at whose bar he is alike amenable (in theory)with his apprentice, before whose tribunal he may be dragged at anymoment by his apprentice, and from whose lips he may receive thehumiliating sentence of punishment in the presence of his apprentice. Itintroduces between him and his laborers, mutual repellancies andestrangement; it encourages the former to exercise an authority which hewould not venture to assume under a system of perfect freedom; itemboldens the latter to display an insolence which he would not havedreamed of in a state of slavery, and thus begetting in the one, theimperiousness of the slaveholder _without his power_, and in the other,the independence of the freeman _without his immunities_, it perpetuatesa scene of angry collision, jealousy and hatred.

It does not even serve for the master the unworthy purpose for which itwas mainly devised, viz., that of an additional compensation. Theapprenticeship is estimated to be more expensive than a system of freelabor would be. It is but little less expensive than slavery, andfreedom it is confidently expected will be considerably less. So itwould seem that this system burthens the master with much of theperplexity, the ignominy and the expensiveness of slavery, while itdenies him its power. Such is the apprenticeship system. A splendidimposition!--which cheats the planter of his gains, cheats the Britishnation of its money, and robs the world of what else might have been aglorious example of immediate and entire emancipation.

THE APPRENTICESHIP IS NO PREPARATION FOR FREEDOM.--Indeed, as far as itcan be, it is an actual _disqualification_. The testimony on thissubject is ample. We rarely met a planter, who was disposed to maintainthat the apprenticeship was preparing the negroes for freedom. Theygenerally admitted that the people were no better prepared for freedomnow, than they were in 1834; and some of them did not hesitate to saythat the sole use to which they and their brother planters turned thesystem, was to get _as much work out of the apprentices while it lasted,as possible_. Clergymen and missionaries, declared that theapprenticeship was no preparation for freedom. If it were a preparationat all, it would most probably be so in a religious and educationalpoint of view. We should expect to find the masters, if laboring at allto prepare their apprentices for freedom, doing so chiefly byencouraging missionaries and teachers to come to their estates, and byaiding in the erection of chapels and school-houses. But themissionaries declare that they meet with little more directencouragement now, than they did during slavery.

The special magistrates also testify that the apprenticeship is nopreparation for freedom. On this subject they are very explicit.

The colored people bear the same testimony. Not a few, too, affirm, thatthe tendency of the apprenticeship is to unfit the negroes for freedom,and avow it as their firm persuasion, that the people will be lessprepared for liberty at the end of the apprenticeship, than they were atits commencement. And it is not without reason that they thus speak.They say, first, that the bickerings and disputes to which the systemgives rise between the master and the apprentice, and the arraigning ofeach other before the special magistrate, are directly calculated toalienate the parties. The effect of these contentions, kept up for sixyears, will be to implant _deep mutual hostility_; and the parties willbe a hundred fold more irreconcilable than they were on the abolition ofslavery. Again, they argue that the apprenticeship system is calculatedto make the negroes regard _law as their foe_, and thus it unfits themfor freedom. They reason thus--the apprentice looks to the magistrate ashis judge, his avenger, his protector; he knows nothing of either law orjustice except as he sees them exemplified in the decisions of themagistrate. When, therefore, the magistrate sentences him to punishment,when he knows he was the injured party, he will become disgusted withthe very name of justice, and esteem law his greatest enemy.

The neglect of the planters to use the apprenticeship as a preparationfor freedom, warrants us in the conclusion, that they do not think anypreparation necessary. But we are not confined to doubtful inferences onthis point. They testify positively--and not only planters, but allother classes of men likewise--that the slaves of Barbadoes were fit forentire freedom in 1834, and that they might have been emancipated thenwith perfect safety. Whatever may have been the sentiment of theBarbadians relative to the necessity of preparation before theexperiment was made, it is clear that now they have no confidence eitherin the necessity or the practicability of preparatory schemes.

But we cannot close our remarks upon the apprenticeship system withoutnoticing one good end which it has undesignedly accomplished, i.e., _theillustration of the good disposition of the colored people_. We firmlybelieve that if the friends of emancipation had wished to disprove allthat has ever been said about the ferocity and revengefulness of thenegroes, and at the same time to demonstrate that they possess, in apre-eminent degree, those other qualities which render them the fitsubjects of liberty and law, they could not have done it moretriumphantly than it has been done by the apprenticeship. _How_ this hasbeen done may be shown by pointing out several respects in which theapprenticeship has been calculated to try the negro character mostseverely, and to develop all that was fiery and rebellious in it.

1. The apprenticeship removed that strong arm of slavery and substitutedno adequate force. The arbitrary power of the master, which awed theslave into submission, was annihilated. The whip which was held over theslave, and compelled a kind of subordination--brutal, indeed, buteffectual--was abolished. Here in the outset the reins were given to thelong-oppressed, but now aspiring mass. No adequate force wassubstituted, because it was the intent of the new system to govern bymilder means. This was well, but what were the milder means which wereto take the place of brute force?

2. Was the stimulus of wages substituted? No! That was expressly denied.Was the liberty of locomotion granted? No. Was the privilege of gaininga personal interest in the soil extended to them? No. Were theimmunities and rights of citizenship secured to them? No. Was the poorfavor allowed them of selecting their own business, or of choosing theiremployer? Not even this? Thus far, then, we see nothing of the mildermeasures of the apprenticeship. It has indeed opened the prison doorsand knocked off the prisoners' chains--but it still keeps them grindingthere, as before, and refuses to let them come forth, exceptoccasionally, and then only to be thrust back again. Is it not thusdirectly calculated to encourage indolence and insubordination?

3. In the next place, this system introduces a third party, to whom theapprentice is encouraged to look for justice, redress, and counsel. Thushe is led to regard his master as his enemy, and all confidence in himis for ever destroyed. But this is not the end of the difficulty. Theapprentice carries up complaints against his master. If they gain afavorable hearing he triumphs over him--if they are disregarded, heconcludes that the magistrate also is his enemy, and he goes away with arankling grudge against his master. Thus he is gradually led to asserthis own cause, and he learns to contend with his master, to replyinsolently, to dispute, quarrel, and--it is well that we cannot add, to_fight_. At least one thing is the result--a permanent state ofalienation, contempt of authority, and hatred. _All these are the fruitsof the apprenticeship system_. They are caused by transferring the powerof the master, while the _relation_ continues the same. Nor is thiscontempt for the master, this alienation and hatred, all the mischief.The unjust decisions of the magistrate, of which the apprentices havesuch abundant reasons to complain, excite their abhorrence of him, andthus their confidence in the protection of law is weakened or destroyed.Here, then, is contempt for the master, abhorrence of the magistrate,and mistrust of the law--the apprentice regarding all three as leaguedtogether to rob him of his rights. What a combination of circumstancesto drive the apprentices to desperation and madness! What a marvel thatthe outraged negroes have been restrained from bloody rebellions!

Another insurrectionary feature peculiar to the apprenticeship is itsmaking the apprentices _free a portion of the time_. One fourth of thetime is given them every week--just enough to afford them a taste of thesweets of liberty, and render them dissatisfied with their condition.Then the manner in which this time is divided is calculated to irritate.After being a slave nine hours, the apprentice is made a freeman for theremainder of the day; early the next morning the halter is again put on,and he treads the wheel another day. Thus the week wears away untilSaturday; which is an entire day of freedom. The negro goes out andworks for his master, or any one else, as he pleases, and at night hereceives his quarter of a dollar. This is something like freedom, and hebegins to have the feelings of a freeman--a lighter heart and moreactive limbs. He puts his money carefully away at night, and layshimself down to rest his toil-worn body. He awakes on Sabbath morning,and _is still free_. He puts on his best clothes, goes to church,worships a free God, contemplates a free heaven, sees his free childrenabout him, and his wedded wife; and ere the night again returns, theconsciousness that he is a slave is quite lost in the thoughts ofliberty which fill his breast, and the associations of freedom whichcluster around him. He sleeps again. _Monday morning he is startled fromhis dreams by the old "shell-blow" of slavery_, and he arises to endureanother week of toil, alternated by the same tantalizing mockeries offreedom. Is not this applying the _hot iron to the nerve_?

5. But, lastly, the apprenticeship system, as if it would apply thematch to this magazine of combustibles, holds out the reward of libertyto every apprentice who shall by any means provoke his master to punishhim a second time.

[NOTE.--In a former part of this work--the report of Antigua--wementioned having received information respecting a number of theapprenticeship islands, viz., Dominica, St. Christopher's, Nevis,Montserrat, Anguilla, and Tortola, from the Wesleyan Missionaries whomwe providentially met with at the annual district meeting in Antigua. Wedesigned to give the statements of these men at some length in thisconnection, but we find that it would swell our report to too great asize. It only remains to say, therefore, in a word, that the same thingsare generally true of those colonies which have been detailed in theaccount of Barbadoes. There is the same peaceableness, subordination,industry, and patient suffering on the part of the apprentices, the sameinefficiency of the apprenticeship as a preparation for freedom, and thesame conviction in the community that the people will, if at allaffected by it, be _less_ fit for emancipation in 1840 than they were in1834. A short call at St. Christopher's confirmed these views in ourminds, so far as that island is concerned.

While in Barbadoes, we had repeated interviews with gentlemen who werewell acquainted with the adjacent islands, St. Lucia, St. Vincent's,Grenada, &c.; one of whom was a proprietor of a sugar estate in St.Vincent's; and they assured us that there was the same tranquillityreigning in those islands which we saw in Barbadoes. Sir Evan McGregor,who is the governor-general of the windward colonies, and of coursethoroughly informed respecting their internal state, gave us the sameassurances. From Mr. H., an American gentleman, a merchant of Barbadoes,and formerly of Trinidad, we gathered similar information touching thatlarge and (compared with Barbadoes or Antigua) semi-barbarous island.

We learned enough from these authentic sources to satisfy ourselves thatthe various degrees of intelligence in the several islands makes verylittle difference in the actual results of abolition; but that in allthe colonies, conciliatory and equitable management has never failed tosecure industry and tranquillity.]

JAMAICA.

CHAPTER I.

KINGSTON.

Having drawn out in detail the results of abolition, and the working ofthe apprenticeship system in Barbadoes, we shall spare the reader aprotracted account of Jamaica; but the importance of that colony, andthe fact that greater dissatisfaction on account of the abolition ofslavery has prevailed there than in all the other colonies together,demand a careful statement of facts.

On landing in Jamaica, we pushed onward in our appropriate inquiries,scarcely stopping to cast a glance at the towering mountains, with theircloud-wreathed tops, and the valleys where sunshine and shade sleep sideby side--at the frowning precipices, made more awful by the impenetrableforest-foliage which shrouds the abysses below, leaving the impressionof an ocean depth--at the broad lawns and magnificent savannahs glowingin verdure and sunlight--at the princely estates and palace mansions--atthe luxuriant cultivation, and the sublime solitude of primeval forests,where trees of every name, the mahogany, the boxwood, the rosewood, thecedar, the palm, the fern, the bamboo, the cocoa, the breadfruit, themango, the almond, all grow in wild confusion, interwoven with a densetangled undergrowth.[A]

[Footnote A: It is less necessary for us to dwell long on Jamaica, thanit would otherwise be, since the English gentlemen, Messrs. Sturge andHarvey, spent most of their time in that island, and will, doubtless,publish their investigations, which will, ere long, be accessible to ourreaders. We had the pleasure of meeting these intelligent philanthropicand pious men in the West Indies, and from the great length of time, andthe superior facilities which they enjoyed over us, of gathering a massof facts in Jamaica, we feel assured that their report will be highlyinteresting and useful, as well among us as on the other side ofthe water.]

We were one month in Jamaica. For about a week we remained inKingston,[B] and called on some of the principal gentlemen, both whiteand colored. We visited the Attorney-General, the Solicitor-General,some of the editors, the Baptist and Wesleyan missionaries, and severalmerchants. We likewise visited the public schools, the house ofcorrection, penitentiary, hospital, and other public institutions. Weshall speak briefly of several individuals whom we saw in Kingston, andgive some of their statements.

[Footnote B: The chief town of the island, with about forty thousandinhabitants.]

The Hon. Dowel O'Reily; the Attorney-General; is an Irishman, and of oneof the influential families. In his own country he was a prominentpolitician, and a bold advocate of Catholic Emancipation. He isdecidedly one of the ablest men in the island, distinguished for thatsimplicity of manners, and flow of natural benevolence, which are thecharacteristics of the Irishman. He received his present appointmentfrom the English government about six years ago, and is, by virtue ofhis office, a member of the council. He declared that the apprenticeshipwas in no manner preparing the negroes for freedom, but was operating ina contrary way, especially in Jamaica, where it had been made theinstrument of greater cruelties in some cases, than slavery itself. Mr.O'Reily is entirely free from prejudice; with all his family rank andofficial standing, he identifies himself with the colored people as faras his extensive professional engagements will allow. Having earlylearned this, we were surprised to find him so highly respected by thewhites. In our subsequent excursions to the country, the letters ofintroduction with which he kindly furnished us, to planters and others,were uniformly received with avowals of the profoundest respect for him.It should be observed, that Mr. O'Reily's attachment to the cause offreedom in the colonies, is not a mere partizan feeling assumed in orderto be in keeping with the government under which he holds his office.The fact of his being a Roman Catholic must, of itself, acquit him ofthe suspicion of any strong partiality for the English government. Onthe other hand, his decided hostility to the apprenticeship--thefavorite offspring of British legislation--demonstrates equally hissincerity and independence.

We were introduced to the Solicitor-General, William Henry Anderson,Esq., of Kingston. Mr. A. is a Scotchman, and has resided to Jamaica formore than six years. We found him the fearless advocate of negroemancipation. He exposed the corruptions and abominations of theapprenticeship without reserve. Mr. A. furnished us with a writtenstatement of his views, respecting the state of the island, thecondition of the apprentices, &c., from which we here make afew extracts.

"1. A very material change for the better has taken place in thesentiments of the community since slavery was abolished. Religion andeducation were formerly opposed as subversive of the security ofproperty; now they are in the most direct manner encouraged as its bestsupport. The value of all kinds of property has risen considerably, anda general sense of security appears to be rapidly pervading the publicmind. I have not heard one man assert that it would be an advantage toreturn to slavery, even were it practicable; and I believe that thepublic is beginning to see that slave labor is not the cheapest."

"2. The prejudices against color are _rapidly vanishing_. I do not thinkthere is a respectable man, I mean one who would be regarded asrespectable on account of his good sense and weight of character, whowould impugn another's conduct for associating with persons of color. Sofar as my observation goes, those who would formerly have acted on theseprejudices, will be ashamed to own that they had entertained them. Thedistinction of superior acquirements still belongs to the whites, as abody; but that, and character, will shortly be the only distinguishingmark recognized among us."

"3. The apprentices are improving, _not, however, in consequence of theapprenticeship, but in spite of it, and in consequence of the great actof abolition_!"

"4. I think the negroes might have been emancipated as safely in 1834,as in 1840; and had the emancipation then taken place, they would befound much further in advance in 1840, than they can be after theexpiration of the present period of apprenticeship, _through which all,both apprentices and masters, are_ LABORING HEAVILY."

"5. That the negroes will work if moderately compensated, no candid mancan doubt. Their _endurance_ for the sake of a very little gain is quiteamazing, and they are most desirous to procure for themselves andfamilies as large a share as possible of the comforts and decencies oflife. They appear peculiarly to reverence and desire intellectualattainments. They employ, occasionally, children who have been taught inthe schools to teach them in their leisure time to read."

"6. I think the partial modifications of slavery have been attended byso much improvement in all that constitutes the welfare andrespectability of society, that I cannot doubt the increase of thebenefit were a total abolition accomplished of every restriction thathas arisen out of the former state of things."

During our stay in Kingston, we called on the American consul, to whomwe had a letter from the consul at Antigua. We found him an elderlygentleman, and a true hearted Virginian, both in his generosity and hisprejudices in favor of slavery. The consul, Colonel Harrison, is a nearrelation of General W.H. Harrison, of Ohio. Things, he said, were goingruinously in Jamaica. The English government were mad for abolishingslavery. The negroes of Jamaica were the most degraded and ignorant ofall negroes he had ever seen. He had travelled in all our SouthernStates, and the American negroes, even those of South Carolina andGeorgia, were as much superior to the negroes of Jamaica, as Henry Claywas superior to him. He said they were the most ungrateful, faithlessset he ever saw; no confidence could be placed in them, and kindness wasalways requited by insult. He proceeded to relate a fact from which itappeared that the ground on which his grave charges against the negrocharacter rested, was the ill-conduct of one negro woman whom he hadhired some time ago to assist his family. The town negroes, he said,were too lazy to work; they loitered and lounged about on the sidewalksall day, jabbering with one another, and keeping up an incessant noise;and they would not suffer a white man to order them in the least. Theywere rearing their children in perfect idleness and for his part hecould not tell what would become of the rising population of blacks.Their parents were too proud to let them work, and they sent them toschool all the time. Every afternoon, he said, the streets are throngedwith the half-naked little black devils, just broke from the schools,and all singing some noisy tune learned in the infant schools; the_burthen of_ their songs seems to be, "_O that will be joyful_." Thesewords, said he, are ringing in your ears wherever you go. Howaggravating truly such words must be, bursting cheerily from the lips ofthe little free songsters! "O that will be joyful, _joyful_,JOYFUL"--and so they ring the changes day after day, ceaseless anduntiring. A new song this, well befitting the times and the prospects,but provoking enough to oppressors. The consul denounced he specialmagistrates; they were an insolent set of fellows, they would fine awhite man as quick as they would flog a _nigger_.[A] If a master calledhis apprentice "you scoundrel," or, "you huzzy," the magistrate wouldeither fine him for it or reprove him sharply in the presence of theapprentice. This, in the eyes of the veteran Virginian, was intolerable.Outrageous, not to allow a _gentleman_ to call his servant what names hechooses! We were very much edified by the Colonel's _expose_ of Jamaicamanners. We must say, however, that his opinions had much less weightwith us after we learned (as we did from the best authority) that he hadnever been a half dozen miles into the country during a ten year'sresidence in Kingston.

[Footnote A: We fear there is too little truth in this representation.]

We called on the Rev. Jonathan Edmonson, the superintendent of theWesleyan missions in Jamaica. Mr. E. has been for many years laboring asa missionary in the West Indies, first in Barbadoes, then in St.Vincent's, Grenada, Trinidad, and Demerara, and lastly in Jamaica. Hestated that the planters were doing comparatively nothing to prepare thenegroes for freedom. "_Their whole object was to get as much sugar outof them as they possibly could_."

We received a call from the Rev. Mr. Wooldridge, one of the Independentmissionaries. He thinks the conduct of the planters is tending to makethe apprentices their bitter enemies. He mentioned one effect of theapprenticeship which had not been pointed out to us before. The systemof appraisement, he said, was a _premium upon all the bad qualities ofthe negroes and a tax upon all the good ones_. When a person is to beappraised, his virtues and his vices are always inquired into, and theymaterially influence the estimate of his value. For example, the usualrate of appraisement is a dollar per week for the remainder of the term;but if the apprentice is particularly sober, honest, and industrious,more particularly if he be a _pious man_, he is valued at the rate oftwo or three dollars per week. It was consequently for the interest ofthe master, when an apprentice applied for an appraisement, to portrayhis virtues, while on the other hand there was an inducement for theapprentice to conceal or actually to renounce his good qualities, andfoster the worst vices. Some instances of this kind had fallen under hispersonal observation.

We called on the Rev. Mr. Gardiner, and on the Rev. Mr. Tinson, twoBaptist missionaries in Kingston. On Sabbath we attended service at thechurch of which Mr. G. is the pastor. It is a very large building,capable of seating two thousand persons. The great mass of thecongregation were apprentices. At the time we were present, the chapelwas well filled, and the broad surface of black faces was scarcely atall diversified with lighter colors. It was gratifying to witness theneatness of dress, the sobriety of demeanor, the devotional aspect ofcountenance, the quiet and wakeful attention to the preacher whichprevailed. They were mostly rural negroes from the estates adjacentto Kingston.

The Baptists are the most numerous body of Christians in the island. Thenumber of their missionaries now in Jamaica is sixteen, the number ofChapels is thirty-one, and the number of members thirty-two thousandnine hundred and sixty. The increase of members during the year 1836 wasthree thousand three hundred and forty-four.

At present the missionary field is mostly engrossed by the Baptists andWesleyans. The Moravians are the next most numerous body. Besides these,there are the clergy of the English Church, with a Bishop, and a fewScotch clergymen. The Baptist missionaries, as a body, have been mostdistinguished for their opposition to slavery. Their boldness in themidst of suffering and persecutions, their denunciations of oppression,though they did for a time arouse the wrath of oppressors, and causetheir chapels to be torn down and themselves to be hunted, imprisoned,and banished, did more probably than any other cause, to hasten theabolition of slavery.

_Schools in Kingston_.--We visited the Wolmer free school--the largestand oldest school in the island. The whole number of scholars is fivehundred. It is under the charge of Mr. Reid, a venerable Scotchman, ofscholarship and piety. All colors are mingled in it promiscuously. Wesaw the infant school department examined by Mr. R. There were nearlyone hundred and fifty children, of every hue, from the jettiest black tothe fairest white; they were thoroughly intermingled, and the readyanswers ran along the ranks from black to white, from white to brown,from brown to pale, with undistinguished vivacity and accuracy. We wereafterwards conducted into the higher department, where lads and missesfrom nine to fifteen, were instructed in the various branches ofacademic education. A class of lads, mostly colored, were examined inarithmetic. They wrought several sums in pounds, shillings and pencecurrency, with wonderful celerity.

Among other things which we witnessed in that school, we shall not soonforget having seen a curly headed negro lad of twelve, examining a classof white young ladies in scientific history.

Some written statements and statistical tables were furnished us by Mr.Reid, which we subjoin..

_Kingston, May 13th, 1837_

DEAR SIR,--I delayed answering your queries in hopes of being able togive you an accurate list of the number of schools in Kingston, andpupils under tuition, but have not been able completely to accomplish myintention. I shall now answer your queries in the order you proposethem. 1st Quest. How long have you been teaching in Jamaica? Ans.Thirty-eight years in Kingston. 2d Q. How long have you been master ofWolmer's free school? A. Twenty-three years. 3d Q. What is the number ofcolored children now in the school? A. Four hundred and thirty. 4th Q.Was there any opposition to their admission at first? A. Considerableopposition the first year, but none afterwards. 5th Q. Do they learn asreadily us the white children? A. As they are more regular in theirattendance, they learn better. 6th Q. Are they as easily governed? A.Much easier. 7th Q. What proportion of the school are the children ofapprentices? A. Fifty. 8th Q. Do their parents manifest a desire to havethem educated? A. In general they do. 9th Q. At what age do the childrenleave your school? A. Generally between twelve and fourteen. 10th Q Whatemployments do they chiefly engage in upon leaving you? A. The boys goto various mechanic trades, to counting-houses, attorney's offices,clerks to planting attorneys, and others become planters. The, girlsseamstresses, mantuamakers, and a considerable proportion tailoresses,in Kingston and throughout Jamaica, as situations offer.

I am, dear sirs, yours respectfully,

E. REID.

The following table will show the average numbers of the respectiveclasses, white and colored, who have attended Wolmer's free school ineach year, from 1814 to the present time.

With regard to the _comparative intellect_ of white and coloredchildren, Mr. Reid gives the following valuable statement:

"For the last thirty-eight years I have been employed in this city inthe tuition of children of all classes and colors, and have nohesitation in saying that the children of color are equal both inconduct and ability to the white. They have always carried off more thantheir proportion of prizes, and at one examination, out of seventyprizes awarded, sixty-four were obtained by children of color."

Mr. R. afterwards sent to us the table of the number of schools inKingston, alluded to in the foregoing communication. We insert it here,as it affords a view of the increase of schools and scholars since theabolition of slavery.

We also visited the Union school, which has been established for someyears in Kingston. All the children connected with it, about one hundredand fifty, are, with two exceptions, black or colored. The school isconducted generally on the Lancasterian plan. We examined several of theboys in arithmetic. We put a variety of questions to them, to be workedout on the slate, and the reasons of the process to be explained as theywent along; all which they executed with great expertness. There was ajet black boy, whom we selected for a special trial. We commenced withthe simple rules, and went through them one by one, together with thecompound rules and Reduction, to Practice, propounding questions andexamples in each of them, which were entirely new to him, and to all ofthem he gave prompt and correct replies. He was only thirteen years old,and we can aver we never saw a boy of that age in any of our commonschools, that exhibited a fuller and clearer knowledge of the scienceof numbers.

In general, our opinion of this school was similar to that alreadyexpressed concerning the others. It is supported by the pupils, aided bysix hundred dollars granted by the assembly.

In connection with this subject, there is one fact of much interest.However strong and exclusive was the prejudice of color a few yearssince in the schools of Jamaica, we could not, during our stay in thatisland, learn of more than two or three places of education, and thoseprivate ones, from which colored children were excluded, and among thenumerous schools in Kingston, there is not one of this kind.

We called on several colored gentlemen of Kingston, from whom wereceived much valuable information. The colored population are opposedto the apprenticeship, and all the influence which they have, both inthe colony and with the home government, (which is not small,) isexerted against it. They are a festering thorn in the sides of theplanters, among whom they maintain a fearless espionage, exposing by penand tongue their iniquitous proceedings. It is to be regretted thattheir influence in this respect is so sadly weakened by their _holdingapprentices themselves_.

We had repeated invitations to breakfast and dine with coloredgentlemen, which we accepted as often as our engagements would permit.On such occasions we generally met a company of gentlemen and ladies ofsuperior social and intellectual accomplishments. We must say, that itis a great self-denial to refrain from a description of some of theanimated, and we must add splendid, parties of colored people which weattended. The conversation on these occasions mostly turned on thepolitical and civil disabilities under which the colored populationformerly labored, and the various straggles by which they ultimatelyobtained their rights. The following are a few items of their history.The colored people of Jamaica, though very numerous, and to some extentwealthy and intelligent, were long kept by the white colonists in astate of abject political bondage. Not only were offices withheld fromthem, and the right of suffrage denied, but they were not even allowedthe privilege of an oath in court, in defense of their property or theirpersons. They might be violently assaulted, their limbs broken, theirwives and daughters might be outraged before their eyes by villainshaving white skins; yet they had no legal redress unless another whiteman chanced to see the deed. It was not until 1824 that this oppressiveenactment was repealed, and the protection of an oath extended to thecolored people; nor was it then effected without a long struggle ontheir part.

Another law, equally worthy of a slaveholding legislature, prohibitedany white man, however wealthy, bequeathing, or in any manner giving hiscolored son or daughter more than L2000 currency, or six thousanddollars. The design of this law was to keep the colored people poor anddependent upon the whites. Further to secure the same object, everyeffort, both legislative and private, was made to debar them fromschools, and sink them in the lowest ignorance. Their young men oftalent were glad to get situations as clerks in the stores of whitemerchants. Their young ladies of beauty and accomplishments werefortune-made if they got a place in the white man's harem. These werethe highest stations to which the flower of their youth aspired. Therest sank beneath the discouragements, and grovelled in vice anddebasement. If a colored person had any business with a white gentleman,and should call at his house, "he must take off his hat, and wait at thedoor, and be _as polite as a dog_."

These insults and oppressions the colored people in Jamaica bore, untilthey could bear them no longer. By secret correspondence they formed aunion throughout the island, for the purpose of resistance. This,however, was not effected for a long time, and while in process, thecorrespondence was detected, and the most vigorous means were used bythe whites to crush the growing conspiracy--for such it was virtually.Persuasions and intimations were used privately, and when these failed,public persecutions were resorted to, under the form of judicialprocedures. Among the milder means was the dismission of clerks, agents,&c., from the employ of a white men. As soon as a merchant discoveredthat his clerk was implicated in the correspondence, he first threatenedto discharge him unless he would promise to desert his brethren: if hecould not extort this promise, he immediately put his threat inexecution. Edward Jordon, Esq., the talented editor of the Watchman,then first clerk in the store of a Mr. Briden, was prominently concernedin the correspondence, and was summarily dismissed.

White men drove their colored sons from their houses, and subjected themto every indignity and suffering, in order to deter them fromprosecuting an enterprise which was seen by the terrified oppressors tobe fraught with danger to themselves. Then followed more violentmeasures. Persons suspected of being the projectors of the disaffection,were dragged before incensed judges, and after mock trials, weresentenced to imprisonment in the city jail. Messrs. Jordon and Osborne,(after they had established the Watchman paper,) were both imprisoned;the former twice, for five months each time. At the close of the secondterm of imprisonment, Mr. Jordon was _tried for his life_, on the chargeof having published _seditious matter_ in the Watchman.

The paragraph which was denominated '_seditious matter_' was this--

"Now that the member for Westmoreland (Mr. Beaumont) has come over toour side, we will, by a long pull, a strong pull, and a pull altogether,bring down the system by the run, knock off the fetters, and let theoppressed go free."

On the day of Mr. J.'s trial, the court-room was thronged with coloredmen, who had armed themselves, and were determined, if the sentence ofdeath were pronounced upon Mr. Jordon, to rescue him at whatever hazard.It is supposed that their purpose was conjectured by the judges--at anyrate, they saw fit to acquit Mr. J. and give him his enlargement. TheWatchman continued as fearless and _seditious_ as ever, until theAssembly were ultimately provoked to threaten some extreme measure whichshould effectually silence the agitators. _Then_ Mr. Jordon issued aspirited circular, in which he stated the extent of the coalition amongthe colored people, and in a tone of defiance demanded the instantrepeal of every restrictive law, the removal of every disability, andthe extension of complete political equality; declaring, that if thedemand were not complied with, the whole colored population would risein arms, would proclaim freedom to their own slaves, instigate theslaves generally to rebellion, and then shout war and wage it, until_the streets of Kingston should run blood_. This bold piece ofgeneralship succeeded. The terrified legislators huddled together intheir Assembly-room, and swept away, at one blow, all restrictions, andgave the colored people entire enfranchisement. These occurrences tookplace in 1831; since which time the colored class have been politicallyfree, and have been marching forward with rapid step in every species ofimprovement, and are now on a higher footing than in any other colony.All offices are open to them; they are aldermen of the city, justices ofthe peace, inspectors of public institutions, trustees of schools, etc.There are, at least, then colored special magistrates, natives of theisland. There are four colored members of the Assembly, includingMessrs. Jordon and Osborne. Mr. Jordon now sits in the same Assembly,side by side, with the man who, a few years ago, ejected himdisdainfully from his clerkship. He is a member of the Assembly for thecity of Kingston, where not long since he was imprisoned, and tried forhis life. He is also alderman of the city, and one of its localmagistrates. He is now inspector of the same prison in which he wasformerly immured as a pestilent fellow, and a mover of sedition.

The secretary of the special magistrate department, Richard Hill, Esq.,is a colored gentleman, and is one of the first men in the island,[A]for integrity, independence, superior abilities, and extensiveacquirements. It has seldom been our happiness to meet with a man moreillustrious for true nobility of soul, or in whose countenance therewere deeper traces of intellectual and moral greatness. We are confidentthat no man can _see_ him without being impressed with his rarecombination of excellences.

[Footnote A: We learn from the Jamaica papers, since our return to thiscountry, that Mr. Hill has been elected a member of the Assembly.]

Having said thus much respecting the political advancement of thecolored people, it is proper to remark, that they have by no meansevinced a determination to claim more than their share of office andinfluence. On the contrary, they stop very far short of what they areentitled to. Having an extent of suffrage but little less than thewhites, they might fill one third of the seats in the Assembly, whereasthey now return but four members out of forty-five. The same may be saidof other offices, particularly those in the city of Kingston, and thelarger towns, where they are equal to, or more numerous, than thewhites. It is a fact, that a portion of the colored people continue atthis time to return white members to the Assembly, and to vote for whitealdermen and other city officers. The influential men among them, havealways urged them to take up white men, unless they could find_competent_ men of their own color. As they remarked to us, if they wereobliged to send an _ass_ to the Assembly, it was far better for _them_to send a _white_ ass than a _black_ one.

In company with a friend, we visited the principal streets and places ofbusiness in Kingston, for the purpose of seeing for ourselves thegeneral employments of the people of color; and those who engage in thelowest offices, such as porters, watermen, draymen, and servants of allgrades, from him who flaunts in livery, to him who polishes shoes, areof course from this class. So with the fruiterers, fishmongers, and thealmost innumerable tribe of petty hucksters which swarm throughout thecity, and is collected in a dense mass in its suburbs. The market, whichis the largest and best in the West Indies, is almost entirely suppliedand attended by colored persons, mostly females. The great body ofartisans is composed mostly of colored persons.

There are two large furniture and cabinet manufactories in Kingston, oneowned by two colored men, and the other by a white man. The operatives,of which one contains eighty, and the other nearly as many, are allblack and colored. A large number of them are what the British law terms_apprentices_, and are still bound in unremunerated servitude, thoughsome of them for thrice seven years have been adepts in their trades,and not a few are earning their masters twenty or thirty dollars eachmonth, clear of all expenses. Some of these _apprentices_ arehoary-headed and wrinkle-browned men, with their children, andgrand-children, apprentices also, around them, and who, after havingused the plane and the chisel for half a century, with faithfulness for_others_, are now spending the few hours and the failing strength of oldagain in _preparing_ to use the plane and the chisel for _themselves_.The work on which they were engaged evinced no lack of mechanical skilland ingenuity, but on the contrary we were shown some of the mostelegant specimens of mechanical skill, which we ever saw. The rich woodsof the West Indies were put into almost every form and combination whichtaste could designate or luxury desire.

The owners of these establishments informed us that their business hadmuch _increased within the last two years_, and was still extending.Neither of them had any fears for the results of complete emancipation,but both were laying their plans for the future as broadly andconfidently as ever.

In our walk we accidentally met a colored man, whom we had heardmentioned on several occasions as a superior architect. From theconversation we had with him, then and subsequently, he appeared topossess a fine mechanical genius, and to have made acquirements whichwould be honorable in any man, but which were truly admirable in one whohad been shut up all his life by the disabilities which in Jamaica have,until recently, attached to color. He superintended the erection of theWesleyan chapel in Kingston, the largest building of the kind in theisland, and esteemed by many as the most elegant. The plan was his own,and the work was executed under his own eye. This man is using his meansand influence to encourage the study of his favorite art, and of thearts and sciences generally, among those of his own hue.

One of the largest bookstores in the island is owned by two colored men.(Messrs. Jordon and Osborne, already referred to.) Connected with it isan extensive printing-office, from which a newspaper is issued twice aweek. Another paper, under the control of colored men, is published atSpanishtown. These are the two principal liberal presses in Jamaica, andare conducted with spirit and ability. Their influence in the politicaland civil affairs of the island is very great. They are the organs ofthe colored people, bond and free, and through them any violation of lawor humanity is exposed to the public, and redress demanded, andgenerally obtained. In literary merit and correctness of moralsentiment, they are not excelled by any press there, while some of theirwhite contemporaries fall far below them in both. Besides the workmenemployed in these two offices, there is a large number of coloredprinters in the other printing offices, of which there are several.

We called at two large establishment for making jellies, comfits,pickles, and all the varieties of tropic _preserves_. In each of themthirty or more persons are constantly employed, and a capital of somethousands of dollars invested. Several large rooms were occupied byboxes, jars, and canisters, with the apparatus necessary to the process,through which the fruit passes. We saw every species of fruits andvegetables which the island produces, some fresh from the trees andvines, and others ready to be transported to the four quarters of theglobe, in almost every state which the invalid or epicure could desire.These articles, with the different preparations of arrow-root andcassada, form a lucrative branch of trade, which is mostly in the handsof the colored people.

We were introduced to a large number of colored merchants, dealers indry goods, crockery and glass ware, ironmongers, booksellers, druggists,grocers, and general importers and were conducted by them through theirstores; many of which were on an extensive scale, and managed,apparently, with much order and regularity. One of the largestcommercial houses in Kingston has a colored man as a partner, the othertwo being white. Of a large auction and commission firm, the most activeand leading partner is a colored man. Besides these, there is hardly arespectable house among the white merchants, in which some importantoffice, oftentimes the head clerkship, is not filled by a person ofcolor. They are as much respected in business transactions, and theirmercantile talents, their acquaintance with the generalities and detailsof commerce, and sagacity and judgment in making bargains, are as highlyesteemed by the white merchants, as though they wore an European hue.The commercial room is open to them, where they resort unrestrainedly toascertain the news; and a visitor may not unfrequently see sittingtogether at a table of newspapers, or conversing together in theparlance of trade, persons as dissimilar in complexion as white andblack can make them. In the streets the same intercourse is seen.

The general trade of the island is gradually and quietly passing intothe hands of the colored people. Before emancipation, they seldomreached a higher grade in mercantile life than a clerkship, or, if theycommenced business for themselves, they were shackled and confined intheir operations by the overgrown and monopolizing establishments whichslavery had built up. Though the civil and political rights of one classof them were acknowledged three years previous, yet they found theycould not, even if they desired it, disconnect themselves from theslaves. They could not transact business--form credits and agencies, andreceive the confidence of the commercial public--like free men. Strangeor not, their fate was inseparably linked with that of the bondman,their interests were considered as involved with his. However honestthey might be, it was not safe to trust them; and any attempt to riseabove a clerkship, to become the employer instead of the employed, wasregarded as a kind of insurrection, and strongly disapproved andopposed. Since emancipation, they have been unshackling them selves fromwhite domination in matters of trade; extending their connections, andbecoming every day more and more independent. They have formed creditswith commercial houses abroad, and now import directly for themselves,at wholesale prices, what they were formerly obliged to receive fromwhite importers, or rather speculators, at such prices as they, in theirtender mercies, saw fit to impose.

Trade is now equalizing itself among all classes. A spirit ofcompetition is awakened, banks have been established, steam navigationintroduced, railroads projected, old highways repaired, and new onesopened. The descendants of the slaves are rapidly supplying the placeswhich were formerly filled by whites from abroad.

We had the pleasure of being present one day at the sitting of thepolice court of Kingston. Mr. Jordon, the editor of the Watchman, in histurn as a member of the common council, was presiding justice, with analderman of the city, a black man, as his associate. At a table belowthem sat the superintendent of police, a white man, and two whiteattorneys, with their huge law books and green bags before them. The barwas surrounded by a motley assemblage of black, colored, and whitefaces, intermingled without any regard to hue in the order ofsuperiority and precedence. There were about a dozen cases adjudgedwhile we were present. The court was conducted with order and dignity,and the justices were treated with great respect and deference both bywhite and black.

After the adjournment of the court, we had some conversation with thepresiding justice. He informed us that whites were not unfrequentlybrought before him for trial, and, in spite of his color, sometimes evenour own countrymen. He mentioned several instances of the latter, insome of which American prejudice assumed very amusing and ludicrousforms. In one case, he was obliged to threaten the party, a captain fromone of our southern ports, with imprisonment for contempt, before hecould induce him to behave himself with proper decorum. The captain,unaccustomed to obey injunctions from men of such a complexion, curledhis lip in scorn, and showed a spirit of defiance, but on the approachof two police officers, whom the court had ordered to arrest him, hesubmitted himself. We were gratified with the spirit of good humor andpleasantry with which Mr. J. described the astonishment and gapingcuriosity which Americans manifest on seeing colored men in offices ofauthority, particularly on the judicial bench, and their evidentembarrassment and uneasiness whenever obliged to transact business withthem as magistrates. He seemed to regard it as a subject well worthy ofridicule; and we remarked, in our intercourse with the colored people,that they were generally more disposed to make themselves merry withAmerican sensitiveness on this point, than to bring serious complaintsagainst it, though they feel deeply the wrongs which they have sufferedfrom it, and speak of them occasionally with solemnity and earnestness.Still the feeling is so absurd and ludicrous in itself, and is exhibitedin so many grotesque positions, even when oppressive, that the sufferercannot help laughing at it. Mr. Jordon has held his present office since1832. He has had an extensive opportunity, both as a justice of thepolice court, and as a member of the jail committee, and in otherofficial stations, to become well acquainted with the state of crime inthe island at different periods. He informed us that the number ofcomplaints brought before him had much diminished since 1834, and he hadno hesitation in saying, that crime had decreased throughout the islandgenerally more than one third.

During one of our excursions into the country, we witnessed anotherinstance of the amicability with which the different colors associatedin the civil affairs of the island. It was a meeting of one of theparish vestries, a kind of local legislature, which possessesconsiderable power over its own territory. There were fifteen memberspresent, and nearly as many different shades of complexion. There wasthe planter of aristocratic blood, and at his side was a deep mulatto,born in the same parish a slave. There was the quadroon, and theunmitigated hue and unmodified features of the negro. They sat togetheraround a circular table, and conversed as freely as though they had beenall of one color. There was no restraint, no uneasiness, as though theparties felt themselves out of place, no assumption nor disrespect, butall the proceedings manifested the most perfect harmony, confidence, andgood feeling.

At the same time there was a meeting of the parish committee on roads,at which there was the same intermixture of colors, the same freedom andkindness of demeanor, and the same unanimity of action. Thus it is withall the political and civil bodies in the island, from the House ofAssembly, to committees on jails and houses of correction. Into all ofthem, the colored people are gradually making their way, andparticipating in public debates and public measures, and dividing withthe whites legislative and judicial power, and in many cases theyexhibit a superiority, and in all cases a respectability, of talents andattainments, and a courtesy and general propriety of conduct, which gainfor them the respect of the intelligent and candid among their whiteassociates.

We visited the house of correction for the parish of St. Andrews. Thesuperintendent received us with the iron-hearted courtesy of a Newgateturnkey. Our company was evidently unwelcome, but as the friend whoaccompanied us was a man in authority, he was constrained to admit us.The first sound that greeted us was a piercing outcry from thetreadmill. On going to it, we saw a youth of about eighteen hanging inthe air by a strap bound to his wrist, and dangling against the wheel insuch a manner that every revolution of it scraped the body from thebreast to the ankles. He had fallen off from weakness and fatigue, andwas struggling and crying in the greatest distress, while the strap,which extended to a pole above and stretched his arm high above hishead, held him fast. The superintendent, in a harsh voice, ordered himto be lifted up, and his feet again placed on the wheel. But before hehad taken five steps, he again fell off, and was suspended as before. Atthe same instant, a woman also fell off, and without a sigh or themotion of a muscle, for she was too much exhausted for either, but witha shocking wildness of the eye, hung by her half-dislocated arms againstthe wheel. As the allotted time (fifteen minutes) had expired, thepersons on the wheel were released, and permitted to rest. The boy couldhardly stand on the ground. He had a large ulcer on one of his feet,which was much swollen and inflamed, and his legs and body were greatlybruised and peeled by the revolving of the wheel. The gentleman who waswith us reproved the superintendent severely for his conduct, and toldhim to remove the boy from the treadmill gang, and see that proper carewas taken of him. The poor woman who fell off, seemed completelyexhausted; she tottered to the wall near by, and took up a little babewhich we had not observed before. It appeared to be not more than two orthree months old, and the little thing stretched out its arms andwelcomed its mother. On inquiry, we ascertained that this woman'soffence was absence from the field an hour after the required time (sixo'clock) in the morning. Besides the infant with her, she had two orthree other children. Whether the care of them was any excuse for her,we leave American mothers to judge. There were two other women on thetreadmill--one was sentenced there for stealing cane from her master'sfield, and the other, we believe, for running away.

The superintendent next took us to the solitary cells. They were dirty,and badly ventilated, and unfit to keep beasts in. On opening the doors,such a stench rushed forth, that we could not remain. There was a poorwoman in one of them, who appeared, as the light of day and the freshair burst in upon her, like a despairing maniac.

We went through the other buildings, all of which were old and dirty,nay, worse, _filthy_ in the extreme. The whole establishment was adisgrace to the island. The prisoners were poorly clad, and had theappearance of harsh usage. Our suspicions of ill treatment werestrengthened by noticing a large whip in the treadmill, and sundry ironcollars and handcuffs hanging about in the several rooms through whichwe passed.

The number of inmates in this house at our visit, wasforty-eight--eighteen of whom were females. Twenty of these were in thetreadmill and in solitary confinement--the remainder were working onthe public road at a little distance--many of them _in irons_--ironcollars about their necks, and chains passing between, connecting themtogether two and two.

CHAPTER II.

TOUR TO THE COUNTRY.

Wishing to accomplish the most that our limited time would allow; weseparated at Kingston;--the one taking a northwesterly route among themountainous coffee districts of Port Royal and St. Andrews, and theother going into the parish of St. Thomas in the East.

St. Thomas in the East is said to present the apprenticeship in its mostfavorable aspects. There is probably no other parish in the island whichincludes so many fine estates, or has so many liberal-mindedplanters.[A] A day's easy drive from Kingston, brought us to Morant Bay,where we spent two days, and called on several influential gentlemen,besides visiting the neighboring estate of Belvidere. One gentleman whomwe met was Thomas Thomson, Esq., the senior local magistrate of theParish, next in civil influence to the Custos. His standing may beinferred from the circumstance, (not trifling in Jamaica,) that theGovernor, during his tour of the island, spent a night at his house. Webreakfasted with Mr. Thomson, and at that time, and subsequently, heshowed the utmost readiness in furnishing us with information. He is aScotchman, has been in the island for thirty-eight years, and has servedas a local magistrate for thirty-four. Until very lately, he has been aproprietor of estates; he informed us that he had sold out, but did notmention the reasons. We strongly suspected, from the drift of hisconversation, that he sold about the time of abolition, through alarmfor the consequences. We early discovered that he was one of the oldschool tyrants, hostile to the change which _had_ taken place, anddreadfully alarmed in view of that which was yet to come. Although fullof the prejudices of an old slaveholder, yet we found him a man ofstrong native sense and considerable intelligence. He declared it mostunreservedly as his opinion, that the negroes would not work after1810--they were _naturally so indolent_, that they would prefergaining a livelihood in some easier way than by digging cane holes. Hehad all the results of the emancipation of 1840 as clearly before hismind, as though he saw them in prophetic vision; he knew the wholeprocess. One portion of the negroes, too lazy to provide food by theirown labor, will rob the provision grounds of the few who will remain atwork. The latter will endure the wrong as long as they well can, andthen they will procure arms and fire upon the marauders; this will giverise to incessant petty conflicts between the lazy and the industrious,and a great destruction of life will ensue. Others will die in vastnumbers from starvation; among these will be the superannuated and theyoung, who cannot support themselves, and whom the planters will not beable to support. Others numerous will perish from disease, chiefly forwant of medical attendance, which it will be wholly out of their powerto provide. Such is the dismal picture drawn by a late slaveholder, ofthe consequences of removing the negroes from the tender mercies ofoppressors. Happily for all parties, Mr. Thomson is not very likely toestablish his claim to the character of a prophet. We were not at allsurprised to hear him wind up his prophecies against freedom with a_denunciation of slavery_. He declared that slavery was a wretchedsystem. Man was _naturally a tyrant_. Mr. T. said he had one goodthing to say of the negroes, viz., that they were an _exceedinglytemperate people_. It was a very unusual thing to see one of them drunk.Slavery, he said, was a system of _horrid cruelties_. He had latelyread, in the history of Jamaica, of a planter, in 1763, having a slave's_leg_ cut off, to keep him from running away. He said that dreadfulcruelties were perpetrated until the close of slavery, and they wereinseparable from slavery. He also spoke of the fears which haunted theslaveholders. He never would live on an estate; and whenever he chancedto stay over night in the country, he always took care to secure hisdoor by bolting and barricading it. At Mr. Thomson's we met AndrewWright, Esq., the proprietor of a sugar estate called Green Wall,situated some six miles from the bay. He is an intelligent gentleman, ofan amiable disposition--has on his estate one hundred and sixtyapprentices. He described his people as being in a very peaceable state,and as industrious as he could wish. He said he had no trouble withthem, and it was his opinion, that where there is trouble, it must be_owing to bad management_. He anticipated no difficulty after 1840, andwas confident that his people would not leave him. He believed that thenegroes would not to any great extent abandon the cultivation of sugarafter 1840. Mr. T. stated two facts respecting this enlightened planter,which amply account for the good conduct of his apprentices. One was,that he was an exceedingly kind and amiable man. _He had never beenknown to have a falling out with any man in his life_. Another fact was,that Mr. Wright was the only resident sugar proprietor in all thatregion of country. He superintends his own estate, while the other largeestates are generally left in the hands of unprincipled, mercenary men.

[Footnote A: We have the following testimony of Sir Lionel Smith to thesuperiority of St. Thomas in the East. It is taken from the RoyalGazette, (Kingston.) May 6, 1837. "His Excellency has said, that in allhis tour he was not more highly gratified with any parish than he waswith St. Thomas in the East."]

We called on the Wesleyan missionary at Morant Bay, Rev. Mr. Crookes,who has been in Jamaica fifteen years. Mr. C. said, that in manyrespects there had been a great improvement since the abolition ofslavery, but, said he, "I abominate the apprenticeship system. At best,it is only _improved slavery_." The obstacles to religious effortshave been considerably diminished, but the masters were not to bethanked for this; it was owing chiefly to the protection of British law.The apprenticeship, Mr. C. thought, could not be any materialpreparation for freedom. He was persuaded that it would have been farbetter policy to have granted entire emancipation at once.

In company with Mr. Howell, an Independent, and teacher of a school ofeighty negro children in Morant Bay, we drove out to Belvidere estate,which is situated about four miles from the bay, in a rich districtcalled the Blue Mountain Valley. The Belvidere is one of the finestestates in the valley. It contains two thousand acres, only four hundredof which are cultivated in sugar; the most of it is woodland. Thisestate belongs to Count Freeman, an absentee proprietor. We tookbreakfast with the overseer, or manager, Mr. Briant. Mr. B. stated thatthere was not so much work done now as there was during slavery. Thinksthere is _as much done for the length of time that the apprentices areat work_; but a day and a half every week is lost; neither _are theycalled out as early in the morning, nor do they work as late at night_.The apprentices work at night very cheerfully for money: but they willnot work on Saturday for the common wages--quarter of a dollar. Oninquiry of Mr. B. we ascertained that the reason the apprentices did notwork on Saturdays was, that they could _make twice or three times asmuch_ by cultivating their provision grounds, and carrying their produceto market. At _night_ they cannot cultivate their grounds, then theywork for their masters "very cheerfully."

The manager stated, that there had been no disturbance with the peopleof Belvidere since the change. They work well, and conduct themselvespeaceably; and he had no fear but that the great body of the negroeswould remain on the estate after 1840, and labor as usual. This hethought would be the case on every estate where there _is mildmanagement_. Some, indeed, might leave even such estates to _try theirfortunes_ elsewhere, but they would soon discover that they could get nobetter treatment abroad, and they would then return to their old homes.

While we were at Belvidere, Mr. Howell took us to see a new chapel whichthe apprentices of that estate have erected since 1834, by their ownlabor, and at their own expense. The house is thirty feet by forty;composed of the same materials of which the negro huts are built. Wewere told that the building of this chapel was first suggested by theapprentices, and as soon as permission was obtained, they commenced thepreparations for its erection. We record this as a delightful _sign ofthe times_.

On our return to Morant Bay, we visited the house of correction,situated near the village. This is the only "institution," as a Kingstonpaper gravely terms it, of the kind in the parish. It is a small,ill-constructed establishment, horribly filthy, more like a receptaclefor wild beasts than human beings. There is a treadmill connected withit, made to _accommodate_ fifteen persons at a time. Alternate companiesascend the wheel every fifteen minutes. It was unoccupied when we wentin; most of the prisoners being at work on the public roads. Two orthree, who happened to be near by, were called in by the keeper, andordered to mount the wheel, to show us how it worked. It made our bloodrun cold as we thought of the dreadful suffering that inevitably ensues,when the foot loses the step, and the body hangs against therevolving cylinder.

Leaving the house of correction, we proceeded to the village. In a smallopen square in the centre of it, we saw a number of the unhappy inmatesof the house of correction at work under the direction, we are sorry tosay, of our friend Thomas Thomson, Esq. They were chained two and two byheavy chains fastened to iron bands around their necks. On anotheroccasion, we saw the same gang at work in the yard attached to theIndependent chapel.

We received a visit, at our lodgings, from the special justice of thisdistrict, Major Baines. He was accompanied by Mr. Thomson, who came tointroduce him as his friend. We were not left to this recommendationalone, suspicious as it was, to infer the character of this magistrate,for we were advertised previously that he was a "planter's man"--unjustand cruel to the apprentices. Major B. appeared to have been lookingthrough his friend Thomson's prophetic telescope. There was certainly awonderful coincidence of vision--the same abandonment of labor, the samepreying upon provision grounds; the same violence, bloodshed and greatloss of life among the negroes themselves! However, the specialmagistrate appeared to see a little further than the local magistrate,even to the _end_ of the carnage, and to the re-establishment ofindustry, peace and prosperity. The evil, he was confident, would sooncure itself.

One remark of the special magistrate was worthy a prophet. When asked ifhe thought there would be any serious disaffection produced among thepraedials by the emancipation of the non-praedials in 1838, he said, hethought there would not be, and assigned as the reason, that thepraedials knew all about the arrangement, and did not _expect to befree_. That is, the field apprentices knew that the domestics were to beliberated two years sooner than they, and, without inquiring into thegrounds, or justice of the arrangement, _they would promptlyacquiesce in it_!

What a fine compliment to the patience and forbearance of the mass ofthe negroes. The majority see the minority emancipated two years beforethem, and that, too, upon the ground of an odious distinction whichmakes the domestic more worthy than they who "bear the heat and burthenof the day," in the open field; and yet they submit patiently, becausethey are told that it is the pleasure of government that it shouldbe so!

The _non-praedials_, too, have their noble traits, as well as the lessfavored agriculturalists. The special magistrate said that he was thenengaged in classifying the apprentices of the different estates in hisdistrict. The object of this classification was, to ascertain all thosewho were non-praedials, that they might be recorded as the subjects ofemancipation in 1838. To his astonishment he found numbers of this classwho expressed a wish to remain apprentices until 1840. On one estate,six out of eight took this course, on another, twelve out of fourteen,and in some instances, _all_ the non-praedials determined to suffer itout with the rest of their brethren, refusing to accept freedom untilwith the whole body they could rise up and shout the jubilee ofuniversal disinthrallment. Here is a nobility worthy to compare with thepatience of the praedials. In connection with the conduct of thenon-praedials, he mentioned the following instance of white brutalityand negro magnanimity. A planter, whose negroes he was classifying,brought forward a woman whom he claimed as a praedial. The womandeclared that she was a non-praedial, and on investigation it wasclearly proved that she had always been a domestic; and consequentlyentitled to freedom in 1838. After the planter's claim was set aside,the woman said, "_Now_ I will stay with massa, and be his 'prentice forde udder two year."

Shortly before we left the Bay, our landlady, a colored woman,introduced one of her neighbors, whose conversation afforded us a raretreat. She was a colored lady of good appearance and lady like manners.Supposing from her color that she had been prompted by strong sympathyin our objects to seek an interview with us, we immediately introducedthe subject of slavery, stating that as we had a vast number of slavesin our country, we had visited Jamaica to see how the freed peoplebehaved, with the hope that our countrymen might be encouraged to adoptemancipation. "Alack a day!" The tawny madam shook her head, and, withthat peculiar creole whine, so expressive of contempt, said, "Can't sayany thing for you, sir--they not doing no good now, sir--the negroesan't!"--and on she went abusing the apprentices, and denouncingabolition. No American white lady could speak more disparagingly of theniggers, than did this recreant descendant of the negro race. They didno work, they stole, were insolent, insubordinate, and what not.

She concluded in the following elegiac strain, which did not fail totouch our sympathies. "I can't tell what will become of us after 1840.Our negroes will be taken away from us--we shall find no work to doourselves--we shall all have to beg, and who shall we beg from? _Allwill be beggars, and we must starve_!"

Poor Miss L. is one of that unfortunate class who have hitherto gained ameagre support from the stolen hire of a few slaves, and who, afterentire emancipation, will be stripped of every thing. This is the classupon whom emancipation will fall most heavily; it will at once cast manyout of a situation of ease, into the humiliating dilemma of _laboring orbegging_--to the _latter_ of which alternatives, Miss L. seems inclined.Let Miss L. be comforted! It is better to beg than to _steal_.

We proceeded from Morant Bay to Bath, a distance of fourteen miles,where we put up at a neat cottage lodging-house, kept by Miss P., acolored lady. Bath is a picturesque little village, embowered inperpetual green, and lying at the foot of a mountain on one side, and onthe other by the margin of a rambling little river. It seems to haveaccumulated around it and within it, all the verdure and foliage of atropical clime.

Having a letter of introduction, we called on the special magistrate forthat district--George Willis, Esq. As we entered his office, anapprentice was led up in irons by a policeman, and at the same timeanother man rode up with a letter from the master of the apprentice,directing the magistrate to release him instantly. The facts of thiscase, as Mr. W. himself explained them to us, will illustrate thecareless manner in which the magistrates administer the law. The masterhad sent his apprentice to a neighboring estate, where there had beensome disturbance, to get his clothes, which had been left there. Theoverseer of the estate finding an intruder on his property, had himhandcuffed forthwith, notwithstanding his repeated declarations that hismaster had sent him. Having handcuffed him, he ordered him to be takenbefore the special magistrate, Mr. W., who had him confined in thestation-house all night. Mr. W., in pursuance of the direction receivedfrom the master, ordered the man to be released, but at the same timerepeatedly declared to him that the _overseer was not to blame forarresting him_.

After this case was disposed of, Mr. W, turned to us. He said he had adistrict of thirty miles in extent, including five thousand apprentices;these he visited thrice every month. He stated that there had been agradual decrease of crime since he came to the district, which was earlyin 1835. For example, in March, 1837, there were but twenty-four personspunished, and in March, 1835, there were as many punished in a singleweek. He explained this by saying that the apprentices had become_better acquainted with the requirements of the law_. The chief offenceat present was _absconding from labor_.

This magistrate gave us an account of an alarming rebellion which hadlately occurred in his district, which we will venture to notice, sinceit is the only serious disturbance on the part of the negroes, which hastaken place in the island, from the beginning of the apprenticeship.About two weeks before, the apprentices on Thornton estate, amounting toabout ninety, had refused to work, and fled in a body to the woods,where they still remained. Their complaint, according to our informant,was, that their master had turned the cattle upon their provisiongrounds, and all their provisions were destroyed, so that they could notlive. They, therefore, determined that they would not continue at work,seeing they would be obliged to starve. Mr. W. stated that he hadvisited the provision grounds, in company with two _disinterestedplanters_, and he could affirm that the apprentices had _no just causeof complaint_. It was true their fences had been broken down, and theirprovisions had been somewhat injured, but the fence could be very easilyrepaired, and there was an _abundance of yams left_ to furnish food forthe whole gang for some time to come--those that were destroyed beingchiefly young roots which would not have come to maturity for severalmonths. These statements were the substance of a formal report which hehad just prepared for the eye of Sir Lionel Smith, and which he was kindenough to read to us. This was a fine report, truly, to come from aspecial justice. To say nothing of the short time in which the fencemight be repaired, those were surely very dainty-mouthed cattle thatwould consume those roots only which were so small that several monthswould be requisite for their maturity. The report concluded with arecommendation to his Excellency to take seminary vengeance upon a fewof the gang as soon as they could be arrested, since they had set suchan example to the surrounding apprentices. He could not see how orderand subordination could be preserved in his district unless such apunishment was inflicted as would be a warning to all evil doers. Hefurther suggested the propriety of sending the maroons[A] after them, tohunt them out of their hiding places and bring them to justice.

[Footnote A: The maroons are free negroes, inhabiting the mountains ofthe interior, who were formerly hired by the authorities, or byplanters, to hunt up runaway slaves, and return them to their masters.Unfortunately our own country is not without _its_ maroons.]

We chanced to obtain a different version of this affair, which, as itwas confirmed by different persons in Bath, both white and colored, whohad no connection with each other, we cannot help thinking it thetrue one.

The apprentices on Thornton, are what is termed a jobbing gang, that is,they are hired out by their master to any planter who may want theirservices. Jobbing is universally regarded by the negroes as the worstkind of service, for many reasons--principally because it often takesthem many miles from their homes, and they are still required to supplythemselves with food from their own provision grounds. They are allowedto return home every Friday evening or Saturday, and stay till Mondaymorning. The owner of the gang in question lately died--to whom it issaid they were greatly attached--and they passed into the hands of a Mr.Jocken, the present overseer. Jocken is a notoriously cruel man. It wasscarcely a twelvemonth ago, that he was fined one hundred poundscurrency, and sentenced to imprisonment for three months in the Kingstonjail, _for tying one of his apprentices to a dead ox_, because theanimal died while in the care of the apprentice. He also confined awoman in the same pen with a dead sheep, because she suffered the sheepto die. Repeated acts of cruelty have caused Jocken to be regarded as amonster in the community. From a knowledge of his character, theapprentices of Thornton had a strong prejudice against him. One of theearliest acts after he went among them, was to break down their fences,and turn his cattle into their provision grounds. He then ordered themto go to a distant estate to work. This they refused to do, and when heattempted to compel them to go, they left the estate in a body, and wentto the woods. This is what is called a _state of open rebellion_, andfor this they were to be hunted like beasts, and to suffer such aterrible punishment as would deter all other apprentices from taking asimilar step.

This Jocken is the same wretch who wantonly handcuffed the apprentice,who went on to his estate by the direction of his master.

Mr. Willis showed us a letter which he had received that morning from aplanter in his district, who had just been trying an experiment in jobwork, (i.e., paying his people so much for a certain amount of work.) Hehad made a proposition to one of the head men on the estate, that hewould give him a doubloon an acre if he would get ten acres of cane landholed. The man employed a large number of apprentices, and accomplishedthe job on three successive Saturdays. They worked at the rate of nearlyone hundred holes per day for each man, whereas the usual day's work isonly seventy-five holes.

Mr. W. bore testimony that the great body of the negroes in his districtwere very peaceable. There were but a few _incorrigible fellows_, thatdid all the mischief. When any disturbance took place on an estate, hecould generally tell who the individual offenders were. He did not thinkthere would be any serious difficulty after 1840. However, the result hethought would _greatly depend on the conduct of the managers!_

We met in Bath with the proprietor of a coffee estate situated a fewmiles in the country. He gave a very favorable account of the people onhis estate; stating that they were as peaceable and industrious as hecould desire, that he had their confidence, and fully expected to retainit after entire emancipation. He anticipated no trouble whatever, and hefelt assured, too, that if _the planters would conduct in a propermanner_, emancipation would be a blessing to the whole colony.

We called on the Wesleyan missionary, whom we found the decided friendand advocate of freedom. He scrupled not to declare his sentimentsrespecting the special magistrate, whom he declared to be a cruel anddishonest man. He seemed to take delight in flogging the apprentices. Hehad got a whipping machine made and erected in front of the Episcopalchurch in the village of Bath. It was a frame of a triangular shape, thebase of which rested firmly on the ground, and having a perpendicularbeam from the base to the apex or angle. To this beam the apprentice'sbody was lashed, with his face towards the machine, and his armsextended at right angles, and tied by the wrists. The missionary hadwitnessed the floggings at this machine repeatedly, as it stood but afew steps from his house. Before we reached Bath, the machine had beenremoved from its conspicuous place and _concealed in the bushes, thatthe governor might not see it when he visited the village_.

As this missionary had been for several years laboring in the island,and had enjoyed the best opportunities to become extensively acquaintedwith the negroes, we solicited from him a written answer to a number ofinquiries. We make some extracts from his communication.

1. Have the facilities for missionary effort greatly increased since theabolition of slavery?

The opportunities of the apprentices to attend the means of grace aregreater than during absolute slavery. They have now one day and a halfevery week to work for their support, leaving the Sabbath free toworship God.

2. Do you anticipate that these facilities will increase still moreafter entire freedom?

Yes. The people will then have _six days of their own to labor for theirbread_, and will be at liberty to go to the house of God every Sabbath.Under the present system, the magistrate often takes away the Saturday,as a punishment, and then they must either work on the Sabbathor starve.

3. Are the negroes likely to revenge by violence the wrongs which theyhave suffered, after they obtain their freedom?

_I never heard the idea suggested, nor should I have thought of it hadyou not made the inquiry._

We called on Mr. Rogers, the teacher of a Mico charity infant school inBath. Mr. R., his wife and daughter, are all engaged in this work. Theyhave a day school, and evening school three evenings in the week, andSabbath school twice each Sabbath. The evening schools are for thebenefit of the adult apprentices, who manifest the greatest eagerness tolearn to read. After working all day, they will come several miles toschool, and stay cheerfully till nine o'clock.

Mr. R. furnished us with a written communication, from which we extractthe following.

_Quest._ Are the apprentices desirous of being instructed?

_Ans._ Most assuredly they are; in proof of which I would observe thatsince our establishment in Bath, the people not only attend the schoolsregularly, but if they obtain a leaf of a book with letters upon it,that is their _constant companion_. We have found mothers with theirsucking babes in their arms, standing night after night in their classeslearning the alphabet.

_Q._ Are the negroes grateful for attentions and favors?

_A._ They are; I have met some who have been so much affected by acts ofkindness, that they have burst into tears, exclaiming, 'Massa sokind--my heart full.' Their affection to their teachers is veryremarkable. On my return lately from Kingston, after a temporaryabsence, the negroes flocked to our residence and surrounded the chaise,saying, 'We glad to see massa again; we glad to see school massa.' On myway through an estate some time ago, some of the children observed me,and in a transport of joy cried, 'Thank God, massa come again! Bless Godde Savior, massa come again!'

Mr. R., said he, casually met with an apprentice whose master had latelydied. The man was in the habit of visiting his master's grave everySaturday. He said to Mr. R., "Me go to massa grave, and de water comeinto me yeye; but me can't help it, massa, _de water will come intome yeye_."

The Wesleyan missionary told us, that two apprentices, an aged man andhis daughter, a young woman, had been brought up by their master beforethe special magistrate who sentenced them to several days confinement inthe house of correction at Morant Bay and to dance the treadmill. Whenthe sentence was passed the daughter entreated that she might be allowedto _do her father's part_, as well as her own, on the treadmill, for hewas too old to dance the wheel--it would kill him.

From Bath we went into the Plantain Garden River Valley, one of therichest and most beautiful savannahs in the island. It is an extensiveplain, from one to three miles wide, and about six miles long. ThePlantain Garden River, a small stream, winds through the midst of thevalley lengthwise, emptying into the sea. Passing through the valley, wewent a few miles south of it to call on Alexander Barclay, Esq., to whomwe had a letter of introduction. Mr. Barclay is a prominent member ofthe assembly, and an attorney for eight estates. He made himselfsomewhat distinguished a few years ago by writing an octavo volume offive hundred pages in defence of the colonies, i.e., in defence ofcolonial slavery. It was a reply to Stephen's masterly work against WestIndia slavery, and was considered by the Jamaicans a triumphantvindication of their "peculiar institutions." We went several miles outof our route expressly to have an interview with so zealous andcelebrated a champion of slavery. We were received with marked courtesyby Mr. B., who constrained us to spend a day and night with him at hisseat at Fairfield. One of the first objects that met our eye in Mr. B.'sdining hall was a splendid piece of silver plate, which was presented tohim by the planters of St. Thomas in the East, in consideration of hisable defence of colonial slavery. We were favorably impressed with Mr.B.'s intelligence, and somewhat so with his present sentimentsrespecting slavery. We gathered from him that he had resisted with allhis might the anti-slavery measures of the English government, andexerted every power to prevent the introduction of the apprenticeshipsystem. After he saw that slavery would inevitably be abolished, he drewup at length a plan of emancipation according to which the condition ofthe slave was to be commuted into that of the old English _villein_--hewas to be made an appendage to _the soil_ instead of the "chattelpersonal" of the master, the whip was to be partially abolished, amodicum of wages was to be allowed the slave, and so on. There was to beno fixed period when this system would terminate, but it was to fadegradually and imperceptibly into entire freedom. He presented a copy ofhis scheme to the then governor, the Earl of Mulgrave, requesting thatit might be forwarded to the home government. Mr. B. said that theanti-slavery party in England had acted from the blind impulses ofreligious fanaticism, and had precipitated to its issue a work whichrequired many years of silent preparation in order to its safeaccomplishment. He intimated that the management of abolition ought tohave been left with the colonists; they had been the long experiencedmanagers of slavery, and they were the only men qualified to superintendits burial, and give it a decent interment.

He did not think that the apprenticeship afforded any clue to the darkmystery of 1840. Apprenticeship was so inconsiderably different fromslavery, that it furnished no more satisfactory data for judging of theresults of entire freedom than slavery itself. Neither would he consentto be comforted by the actual results of emancipation in Antigua.

Taking leave of Mr. Barclay, we returned to the Plantain Garden RiverValley, and called at the Golden Grove, one of the most splendid estatesin that magnificent district. This is an estate of two thousand acres;it has five hundred apprentices and one hundred free children. Theaverage annual crop is six hundred hogsheads of sugar. Thomas McCornock,Esq., the attorney of this estate, is the custos, or chief magistrate ofthe parish, and colonel of the parish militia. There is no man in allthe parish of greater consequence, either in fact or in seemingself-estimation, than Thomas McCornock, Esq. He is a Scotchman, as isalso Mr. Barclay. The custos received us with as much freedom as thedignity of his numerous offices would admit of. The overseer, (manager,)Mr. Duncan, is an intelligent, active, business man, and on any otherestate than Golden Grove, would doubtless be a personage of considerabledistinction. He conducted us through the numerous buildings, from theboiling-house to the pig-stye. The principal complaint of the overseer,was that he could not make the people work to any good purpose. Theywere not at all refractory or disobedient; there was no difficulty ingetting them on to the field; but when they were there, they movedwithout any life or energy. They took no interest in their work, and hewas obliged to be watching and scolding them all the time, or else theywould do nothing. We had not gone many steps after this observation,before we met with a practical illustration of it. A number of theapprentices had been ordered that morning to cart away some dirt to aparticular place. When we approached them, Mr. D. found that one of the"wains" was standing idle. He inquired of the driver why he was keepingthe team idle. The reply was, that there was nothing there for it to do;there were enough other wains to carry away all the dirt. "Then," inquiredthe overseer with an ill-concealed irritation, "why did not go to someother work?" The overseer then turned to us and said, "You see, sir,what lazy dogs the apprentices are--this is the way they do every day,if they are not closely watched." It was not long after this littleincident, before the overseer remarked that the apprentices worked verywell during their own time, _when they were paid for it_. When we wentinto the hospital, Mr. D. directed out attention to one fact, which tohim was very provoking. A great portion of the patients that come induring the week, unable to work, are in the habit of getting well onFriday evening, so that they can go out on Saturday and Sunday; but onMonday morning they are sure to be sick again, then they return to thehospital and remain very poorly till Friday evening, when they get wellall at once, and ask permission to go out. The overseer saw into thetrick; but he could find no medicine that could cure the negroes of thatintermittent sickness. The Antigua planters discovered the remedy forit, and doubtless Mr. D. will make the grand discovery in 1840.

On returning to the "great house," we found the custos sitting in state,ready to communicate any official information which might be called for.He expressed similar sentiments in the main, with those of Mr. Barclay.He feared for the consequences of complete emancipation; the negroeswould to a great extent abandon the sugar cultivation and retire to thewoods, there to live in idleness, planting merely yams enough to keepthem alive, and in the process of time, retrograding into Africanbarbarism. The attorney did not see how it was possible to prevent this.When asked whether he expected that such would be the case with thenegroes on Golden Grove, he replied that he did not think it would,except with a very few persons. His people had been _so well treated_,and had _so many comforts_, that they would not be at all likely toabandon the estate! [Mark that!] Whose are the people that will desertafter 1840? Not Thomas McCornock's, Esq.! _They are too well situated.Whose_ then will desert? _Mr. Jocken's_, or in other words, those whoare ill-treated, who are cruelly driven, whose fences are broken down,and whose provision grounds are exposed to the cattle. They, and theyalone, will retire to the woods who can't get food any where else!

The custos thought the apprentices were behaving very ill. On beingasked if he had any trouble with his, he said, O, no! his apprenticesdid quite well, and so did the apprentices generally, in the PlantainGarden River Valley. But in _far off parishes_, he _heard_ that theywere very refractory and troublesome.

The custos testified that the negroes were very easily managed. He saidhe had often thought that he would rather have the charge of six hundrednegroes, than of two hundred English sailors. He spoke also of thetemperate habits of the negroes. He had been in the island twenty-twoyears, and he had never seen a negro woman drunk, on the estate. It wasvery seldom that the men got drunk. There were not more than ten men onGolden Grove, out of a population of five hundred, who were in the habitof occasionally getting intoxicated. He also remarked that the negroeswere a remarkable people for their attention to the old and infirm amongthem; they seldom suffered them to want, if it was in their power tosupply them. Among other remarks of the custos, was this sweepingdeclaration--"_No man in his senses can pretend to defend slavery._"

After spending a day at Golden Grove, we proceeded to the adjacentestate of Amity Hall. On entering the residence of the manager, Mr.Kirkland, we were most gratefully surprised to find him engaged infamily prayers. It was the first time and the last that we heard thevoice of prayer in a Jamaican planter's house. We were no lessgratefully surprised to see a white lady, to whom we were introduced asMrs. Kirkland, and several modest and lovely little children. It was thefirst and the last _family circle_ that we were permitted to see amongthe planters of that licentious colony. The motley group of coloredchildren--of every age from tender infancy--which we found on otherestates, revealed the state of domestic manners among the planters.

Mr. K. regarded the abolition of slavery as a great blessing to thecolony; it was true that the apprenticeship was a wretchedly bad system,but notwithstanding, things moved smoothly on his estate. He informed usthat the negroes on Amity Hall had formerly borne the character of beingthe _worst gang in the parish_; and when he first came to the estate, hefound that half the truth had not been told of them; but they had becomeremarkably peaceable and subordinate. It was his policy to give themevery comfort that he possibly could. Mr. K. made the same declaration,which has been so often repeated in the course of this narrative, i.e.,that if any of the estates were abandoned, it would be owing to theharsh treatment of the people. He knew many overseers and book-keeperswho were cruel driving men, and he should not be surprised if _they_lost a part, or all, of their laborers. He made one remark which we hadnot heard before. There were some estates, he said, which would probablybe abandoned, for the same reason that they ought never to have beencultivated, because they require _almost double labor_;--such are themountainous estates and barren, worn-out properties, which nothing but asystem of forced labor could possibly retain in cultivation. But theidea that the negroes generally would leave their comfortable homes, andvarious privileges on the estates, and retire to the wild woods, heridiculed as preposterous in the extreme. Mr. K. declared repeatedlythat he could not look forward to 1840, but with the most sanguinehopes; he confidently believed that the introduction of complete freedomwould be the _regeneration of the island_. He alluded to the memorabledeclaration of Lord Belmore, (made memorable by the excitement which itcaused among the colonists,) in his valedictory address to the assembly,on the eve of his departure for England.[A] "Gentlemen," said he, "theresources of this noble island will never be fully developed untilslavery is abolished!" For this manly avowal the assembly ignoblyrefused him the usual marks of respect and honor at his departure. Mr.K. expected to see Jamaica become a new world under the enterprise andenergies of freedom. There were a few disaffected planters, who wouldprobably remain so, and leave the islands after emancipation. It wouldbe a blessing to the country if such men left it, for as long as theywere disaffected, they were the enemies of its prosperity.

[Footnote A: Lord Belmore left the government of Jamaica, a short timebefore the abolition act passed in parliament.]

Mr. K. conducted us through the negro quarters, which are situated onthe hill side, nearly a mile from his residence. We went into several ofthe houses; which were of a better style somewhat than the huts inAntigua and Barbadoes--larger, better finished and furnished. Some fewof them had verandahs or porches on one or more sides, after the WestIndia fashion, closed in with _jalousies_. In each of the houses towhich we were admitted, there was one apartment fitted up in a very neatmanner, with waxed floor, a good bedstead, and snow white coverings, afew good chairs, a mahogany sideboard, ornamented with dishes,decanters, etc.

From Amity Hall, we drove to Manchioneal, a small village ten milesnorth of the Plantain Garden River Valley. We had a letter to thespecial magistrate for that district, R. Chamberlain, Esq., a coloredgentleman, and the first magistrate we found in the parish of St. Thomasin the East, who was faithful to the interests of the apprentices. Hewas a boarder at the public house, where we were directed for lodgings,and as we spent a few days in the village, we had opportunities ofobtaining much information from him, as well as of attending some of hiscourts. Mr. C. had been only five months in the district of Manchioneal,having been removed thither from a distant district. Being a friend ofthe apprentices, he is hated and persecuted by the planters. He gave usa gloomy picture of the oppressions and cruelties of the planters. Theircomplaints brought before him are often of the most trivial kind; yetbecause he does not condemn the apprentices to receive a punishmentwhich the most serious offences alone could justify him in inflicting,they revile and denounce him as unfit for his station. He represents theplanters as not having the most distant idea that it is the province ofthe special magistrate to secure justice to the apprentice; but theyregard it as his sole duty to _help them_ in getting from the laborersas much work as whips, and chains, and tread-wheels can extort. Hispredecessor, in the Manchioneal district, answered perfectly to theplanters' _beau ideal_. He ordered a _cat_ to be kept on every estate inhis district, to be ready for use as he went around on his weeklyvisits. Every week he inspected the cats, and when they became too much